‘Kuwait pioneer in ratifying human rights, humanitarian accords’
KUWAIT CITY, March 10: The first forum, which was organized recently by the Permanent Committee for Civil and Political Rights at the National Office for Human Rights under the title “A Legal Perspective on Civil and Political Rights Practices in Kuwait”, concluded by issuing a set of recommendations, mostly at the level of modern trends in the constitutional judiciary and supreme courts regarding the protection of political rights and intellectual freedoms.
The most prominent among these recommendations were:1. The necessity to amend law No. 65/1969 regarding public meetings and gatherings to fill the legislative vacuum that resulted from the ruling of the Constitutional Court concerning public meetings, and to remove confusion and ambiguity in the interpretation of the articles of the law as a result of the lack of clarity in the definitions and standards contained therein.
2. The issuance of a new law for regulating public meetings in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution and consistent with what the Constitutional Court decided regarding public meetings.
3. The need for the legislator to codify the provisions regulating the exercise of the right to strike in a way that does not disturb public order, respects public morals and does not harm the rights of others in accordance with specific regulations.
4. The strike should not be resorted to except after exhausting the means of amicable settlement, and that it be by a decision of the general assembly of the labor organization with sufficient notice of the intention to organize the strike.
5. The strike must be for a temporary period, and should not lead to the paralysis of public facilities, in addition to explicitly stipulating in the election law the condition of good reputation as one of the conditions that must be met by anyone running for the National Assembly elections.
6. The need to issue legislation to establish the State Council as a judicial body to consider administrative issues in accordance with article 171 of the Constitution.
Meanwhile, at the level of illicit gain crimes, the committee recommended that grants and gifts be considered illegal in public office in order to fill the legal gaps in the illicit gain crime, and criminalize acts not related to money, such as nepotism and favoritism in public office.
It also recommended amending the provisions of law No. 2/2016 concerning establishing the Kuwait Anti-Corruption Authority by granting the Public Prosecutor the authority to issue a financial disclosure order.
The committee stressed that revealing unjustified wealth is one of the corruption investigation procedures granted to Nazaha.
It also affirmed the need to expand the scope of those subject to law No. 2/2016 concerning establishing Nazaha to include all public employees and those of similar status.
Furthermore, with regard to combating corruption and ensuring the independence of the judiciary, the committee recommended strengthening the role of the judicial inspection in directing and guiding the requirements of impartiality and independence, and establishing a code of ethics and conduct for the judicial profession, in addition to the need for the Kuwaiti legislator to adopt the purely judicial formation of the Supreme Judicial Council without representation from the executive authority.
Also, regarding the issue of the rights and obligations of expatriate workers, the committee recommended the need to simplify the procedures for recruiting workers by making them electronic and subjecting them to the supervision of the Public Authority for Manpower.
It also recommended the need to establish a special department for domestic workers in the court to consider their cases, amend its law by adding the statute of limitations and making it two years, educate society about their rights in the private sector, and educate them about their rights under Kuwaiti law.
In addition, regarding the rules governing decisions related to deportation of foreigners in Kuwait, it was recommended to amend paragraph 5 of article 1 of decree law No. 20/1981, which immunizes some administrative decisions from judicial appeal before the Administrative Department. This is based on the fact that such immunization contradicts the provisions of the Constitution, stipulating the right to litigation and the separation of powers, and also undermines the principle of legality.
The authorities concerned with decisions to administratively deport a foreigner must take into account, when exercising their authority in this regard, the human rights guaranteed by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and other international charters.
Among these guarantees is enabling the foreigner to state his defense regarding the acts attributed to him that are believed to be a reason for his deportation, in addition to urging the agencies enforcing administrative deportation decisions against the foreigner to adhere to the provisions of the law and its purposes and to take into account the humanitarian aspects.
In the same context, the forum opened with a speech delivered by the Vice President of the National Office for Human Rights Dr. Siham Al-Fraih, in which she pointed out that Kuwait is a pioneer not only at the regional level but also at the Arab level in ratifying many human rights and humanitarian agreements.
She affirmed that its efforts went beyond that to transforming those agreements into laws, implementing and practicing them.
Dr. Al-Fraih said, “The National Office for Human Rights is the defender of basic rights and freedoms in the country. Its monitoring of any violation against any Kuwaiti or non-Kuwaiti person is our commitment to international human rights standards.”
She concluded by emphasizing the necessity of joining hands and building bridges of cooperation between the National Office for Human Rights, civil society organizations and government bodies to achieve many initiatives and programs that aim to enhance awareness of human rights.
In addition, the Chairman of the Permanent Committee for Civil and Political Rights at the National Office Ambassador Khaled Al-Mughamis said civil and political rights are considered one of the basic pillars of the human rights system. Therefore, the Committee on Civil and Political Rights organized its first forum aimed at correcting national legislation and the practices of legal enforcement agencies in the field of civil and political rights.